Recent news

Spring time has just begun and we all know to well that horrible feeling of itchy eyes and a runny nose. Here in Britain we tend to reach for the allergy tablets to deal with our hay fever, but are we missing a trick?

A company called the Japan Ringing Tone Laboratory has recently developed what it believes to be a cure for hay fever. Apparently sufferers are to hold their ringing phone to their nose to dislodge any pollen.

The laboratory is led by Matsumi Suzuki, an expert in voiceprint technology of the kind used to authenticate tapes of Osama Bin Laden.

Ring tones are now his speciality and he has created a number of ranges, some said to help weight loss and others tailored to different star signs for their calming effect.

After years of searching for ways to help those suffering with depression it would seem a solution has been right under our noses all along. Hundreds of people with mental and physical health problems are being helped by the national gardening-as-therapy charity, which will exhibit its first garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in May.

Many of the plants for the exhibit have been grown by people with severe depression or Alzheimer’s disease or those recovering from stroke or brain injury.

Nicola Carruthers, the chief executive of Thrive has said there is much evidence which highlights the benefits of gardening, even dating back to as far as ancient Egyptian times when pharaohs used to prescribe walks around the garden for the mentally disturbed. Nicola...

UK charity the Mental health Foundation has just created two brand new fundraising business units as a result of a major review and re-structure.

With 1 in 4 people in the UK suffering from a mental health problem each year, the work of the Mental Health Foundation is vital. To find solutions and treatments for mental illness’s there needs to be in depth research and of course this is only possible with funding.

The two new units named ‘Individual Giving’ and ‘Partnerships’ have a new 12 strong team, led by Peter Jennings who was previously the Fundraising and Marketing Director at Marie Curie Cancer Care. Jennings said “We go into our 2010-11 financial year with a sound fundraising strategy and full of confidence that we can grow our voluntary income. We also aim to improve our overall return on investment.”

Colleagues across the Fundraising and Communications departments will be working alongside each other in order to...

The Mental Health Foundation have recently called for more to be done to look after the mental health of Britain’s military war veterans. Although the past few years have seen an increase in support, some services still remain questionable and need to be addressed.

Currently resettlement packages for returning veterans is based on length of service, with the full resettlement package only available after six years of service. Veterans under the age of 24 are two to three times more likely to commit suicide than civilians of the same age, highlighting how resettlement packages should be based more on need than length of service.

Recent research has found that there are twice as many veterans in prison than there are British troops in Afghanistan.The Mental health Foundation has said more research into what helps veterans back into civilian life is needed to prevent them from ending up in prison.

65% of doctors have said they are unable to frequently offer the option of psychological therapy to depressed patients within two months of referral.

The survey which the above findings come from is all part of a campaign by mental health charity Mind which is calling for better access to therapies for those suffering with depression.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is also backing the campaign and believes talking therapies to be the best for of treatment for those suffering with mild to moderate depression. NICE has challenged parties to make guarantees in their election manifestos to offer evidence-based therapies to all those who need them within 28 days of requesting referral.

The government is already working hard to boost the number of cognitive behavioural therapists available on the NHS and in 2007 they pledged £173m to the cause.

The fast paced and ever changing world of technology has unfortunately brought about a new wave of addicts.

Technology addiction is only now being recognised as a serious and life altering condition and as public awareness of the illness grows, so does the support network for sufferers.

It was only recently that a South Korean couple neglected to feed their baby as they were immersed in playing online role-playing game Prius, their baby eventually starved to death. Stories like this are sadly becoming more commonplace as millions are becoming consumed by the fantasy lives they can live through online role playing games.

Technology addicts are now able to seek treatment at a London hospital which has recently launched a treatment plan for young people who spend the majority of their time each day on social networking sites or playing games.

At present the treatment is only available for private patients at the Capio Nightingale...

Research has found that teenagers surviving on less than five hours sleep a night are at a 71% higher risk of depression than those sleeping the full eight hours. Other research has also found a link between low exam results and not getting enough sleep.

A sleep counselling programme is currently being piloted in four Glasgow secondary schools and aims to teach pupils tips about how to sleep properly. The teenagers are learning about the importance of routine and why late night TV and video games should be avoided.

Although the scheme is working well, the charity is calling on the Scottish Government to provide the funding which will allow them to expand.

Director of the charity Jane Ansell said “We would like the Scottish Government to intervene to fund the training of more sleep counsellors to deal with the growing problem of kids who just aren’t functioning through lack of sleep. “Children need sleep to reach their full potential. You wouldn’t...

In the Limelight is a 12 week project situated at an arts venue in North London, it aims to use theatre to help recall memories from long ago reports The Times.

The long term memory of dementia patients can remain untouched for years, it is the part of the brain where the short term memories are stored that is effected first. This means that a patient might remember their wedding day like it was yesterday, but they won’t remember yesterday at all.

The people at artsdepot have discovered that through theatre, art, dance and music, memories from long ago can be recalled, giving patients a stronger sense of identity.

The importance of this kind of reminiscence work is now being recognised throughout the UK. There is currently a large scale drug free trial taking place, involving around 250 people with dementia. Each patient will be...

The number of young people admitted to hospital after self harming has increased by more the 50% in five year, reports BBC Newsbeat.

Researchers at Oxford and Stirling Universities recently compiled a study in which they asked school children with a history of self harm how they first heard about it. The majority reported learning about it after seeing or reading something online or hearing about it from friends.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists has expressed concern about the number of websites which seem to glamourise the issue with images of cuts and scars and is now calling for website moderators to remove images which could act as a trigger to self harm. They have also suggested that these sites link directly to other pages where professional support is available.

YouTube has recently experienced a surge of videos on the topic of self harm. Some are...

According to a a review of rape services throughout England, there is a need for increased services and support for victims, reported BBC News.

Lady Stern, a prisons reform officer, authored the review and was commissioned by ministers to assess how police, prosecutors and other bodies involved, dealt with rape cases.

The study was undertaken over a five month period, throughout which Lady Stern spoke to more than 200 people, including rape victims and police officers.

She reported police and prosecutors losing interest in victims whose complaint was unlikely to lead to a conviction and recommended that new approach be adopted when dealing with victims, regardless of how the investigation might end.

She has said that support for victims and convictions should be on par as priority’s. Lisa Longstaff from campaign group Women Against Rape seems to disagree, saying police...